 |  |
This week I was privileged to share the Green Room with Lord Digby Jones as part of an invited ICSA Conference Panel Debate on the issue of board diversity. As I represented the 25% component of the panel that was 'male psychologist' (!), I was keen to emphasise that definitions of diversity should be "not just the sociological diversity you can see, but also the behavioural diversity that you can't". In particular, the diversity of skillsets, experience and behavioural role (e.g. Belbin role) on any board should be recognised and linked to strategic direction rather than simply about achieving compliance.
Furthermore, I pointed out that although diversity is often necessary, it is not sufficient to promote great board decision-making and performance. Diverse teams have been shown to have the capacity to perform both higher and, interestingly, significantly lower than homogeneous teams. It is therefore the quality of board process and dialogue that mediates the inherent diversity - a fact that is often completely overlooked in this debate. For example, a football team may have a group of star-studded individuals with a variety of talents but if they are not brought together as a team by the manager their performance together may only be mediocre!
What do we do about this? Two things in my opinion: in the short term to use board evaluation as a springboard to external facilitation of better board dynamics; and in the medium term to develop Chairman and Company Secretaries, perhaps through coaching and mentoring, in those same team coaching skillsets so that external support gradually becomes redundant.
Furthermore, I pointed out that although diversity is often necessary, it is not sufficient to promote great board decision-making and performance. Diverse teams have been shown to have the capacity to perform both higher and, interestingly, significantly lower than homogeneous teams. It is therefore the quality of board process and dialogue that mediates the inherent diversity - a fact that is often completely overlooked in this debate. For example, a football team may have a group of star-studded individuals with a variety of talents but if they are not brought together as a team by the manager their performance together may only be mediocre!
What do we do about this? Two things in my opinion: in the short term to use board evaluation as a springboard to external facilitation of better board dynamics; and in the medium term to develop Chairman and Company Secretaries, perhaps through coaching and mentoring, in those same team coaching skillsets so that external support gradually becomes redundant.
RSS Feed